In this blog entry, I’d like to point the spotlight at orange dice with swirls, particularly the Chessex Vortex Orange and Vortex Magma lines, as well as Crystal Case Silk Orange, which all look very similar.
Continue readingDec 06 2020
Not all that glitters is Borealis…
Updated 08 Oct 2023
The Original Chessex Borealis
Some of the most sought-after dice in the collecting world are the old Chessex Borealis lines like Aquerple, Clear and Confetti that are made out of a clear acrylic base with colour shifting glitter inside.
Sadly, these three particular lines are no longer made because the EU started using the iridescent glitter material in Euro banknotes and it became a controlled substance. Borealis Clear was discontinued in 2014, Aquerple in 2015 and Confetti likely around the same time, though these are even rarer as they didn’t sell well at the time and never went into full production after an initial limited release.
Continue readingNov 21 2020
Scammer Dice Shops
Updated 22 Jan 2024
Since late 2020 we’ve seen a significant amount of scammer shops pop up on Facebook and other social media. These accounts and stores advertise dice that aren’t theirs, and will not deliver what they promise.
Continue readingNov 14 2020
Chessex Borealis Purple OG vs. Bescon Moonstone Orchid
Bescon recently released some new colours in their Moonstones lines, and as many collectors have observed, the Orchid set is very similar to the Chessex Borealis Purple old glitter dice. While the Bescon glitter doesn’t have the exact same depth and shimmer as the old Borealis glitter, it’s definitely the closest emulation I have seen to date.
Continue readingNov 06 2020
Magic the Gathering Spindowns & Pokemon Dice
Magic the Gathering (also abbreviated MtG) uses life counters, also known as spindowns to keep track of life totals.
These are usually 20-sided dice that, unlike most other d20s, have similar numbers next to each other so that you can easily find the right number when you need to count up or down. The 20 face of the spindown die usually has an expansion symbol.
Continue readingNov 04 2020
Chessex Lab Dice 2020-2025
The continuing journey of the Lab Dice
Updated 15 July 2024
Ever since the premiere of the first wave of Lab Dice in 2019, Chessex has continued releasing new test colours under their Lab Dice premise — smaller runs of new designs to test their popularity and make more informed decisions which of them to make available as regular releases. Below are details on the Lab Dice releases from 2020 and beyond.
Continue readingOct 24 2020
Reference Guide: Crystal Caste Silk vs. D&G Marble
In my series of dice identification guides, this time I’d like to focus on two other lines of dice that get easily confused: Crystal Caste Silk and Dice & Games Marble. Both are two-coloured styles with one dominant colour and white swirls, but they do have some features that can help you tell them apart.
Continue readingOct 24 2020
Dice Trading & Selling 101
No matter if you’re new to dice collecting, are a veteran collector, or somewhere in between, at some point you’ve probably run across so-called ISO (in-search-of) or WTT (want-to-trade) posts and requests. It’s almost inevitable to trade dice with fellow collectors if you’re looking for a set you’ve fallen in love with that is no longer available in stores, or have that incomplete set of elusive out-of-print dice that you want to complete.
Continue readingOct 24 2020
Chessex Lab Dice 2019
Every year dice collectors and enthusiasts get excited about new releases, and Chessex dice are certainly no exception. At GAMA Expo in March 2019, we got the very first glimpse of new dice that Chessex was planning to release this year. Back then, they were called “From the Lab”, which later evolved to just “Lab Dice”.
Continue readingOct 24 2020
Getting Dicey with Critical Role
Due to the increasing exclusivity and FOMO tactics of the Critical Role dice releases and their less than stellar treatment of long-time fans by their customer support, I will no longer host Critical Role dice related content on my blog. Below is the release chronology of their dice until May 2025. I will not update this table in the future.
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